BlackCat
Shaman
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 7,038
- MBTI Type
- ESFP
- Enneagram
- 9w8
- Instinctual Variant
- sx/sp
INFP- The Idealist
Overview: INFPs are idealistic people at the core, they always make distinctions in the form of dichotomies in their mind when presented with anything in life. It seems to be natural to do this, to have a very innate sense of how things really are, how they are separated in what they mean. INFPs are driven by their inner values, which is a network of emotions and attachments (negative and positive), this net is constantly being added to over time and starts developing at a very young age. This net of emotions is what is commonly where most decisions are made along (they are also made with values), it stores all past emotions. An INFP's values come from the person's experiences and philosophies in life, they are purely subjective. An INFP will generally avoid bad feelings, and with use of the net they naturally remember how to avoid them. A value is formed when a bad or good emotion is felt over and over by a common event, an example would be if the INFP really disliked spinach then they would make it a value to avoid spinach and try to not eat it again.
An INFP's idealism is often inspired by a vision that they have as to how the world could be improved, the way the world SHOULD be. This will generally moderate an INFP's attitude, inspiring them to act on what would be best for a "greater good" in the situations they find themselves in. This may include getting the truth out, helping someone, or setting up for a good future. This view of how the world should be will either make them optimistic or pessimistic in their attitude. The pessimists will generally hope for the best but expect the worst, the optimists will hope for the best and expect the best. This is purely relative to the person.
Functions Order: Fi Ne Si Te
Dominant- Introverted Feeling/Fi: Introverted Feeling is the bread and butter of an INFP. As explained above it grants a net of emotions. It also grants them empathy toward others, in a sense that they feel what the other person is feeling unconsciously, and also allows them to see through other's eyes. Fi makes things have meaning for an INFP, this can be a good or bad, real or symbolic meaning to them. Fi allows an INFP to see right through others, showing their true intentions to them. However this can sometimes fail them, and they see a false intention.
Introverted Feeling basically drives the INFP's yearning for positive emotions in life. INFPs like feeling positive emotions, they thrive on them. If their emotional state is a good one they will do everything better while in that state. It's like mental adrenaline. If someone treats them well, they will generally return the favor since the person has done them well. The way Udog puts it is great: "INFPs tend to have a ‘bank’ of sorts. We fairly freely let people we like make withdrawals from it, in the way of listening, comforting, supporting, and doing favors. However, it’s important for the other person to make deposits, too. We need people to listen to us, do us favors, etc. It’s not a 1:1 ratio, but we are not very good at freely giving and giving unconditionally, either. If the withdrawal/deposit ratio gets too skewed, we eventually drop the person from our life." If the person has wronged an INFP without trying to make it up to them then the INFP may shut them out of their life until the negative emotions cool down. It's all relative to the individual as to how sensitive they are, some INFPs may purely go by the person's intent and feel good about that, disregarding if something simply sounded negative. Some may take the words they say personally if they are perceived as a threat. It varies as to how sensitive an INFP is, you can't just pinpoint it in a profile. That's for you to figure out on your own with your interactions with INFPs. So basically an INFP's emotional state and what makes it good is all relative to the individual.
Auxillary- Extroverted Intuition/Ne: The Extroverted Intuition of an INFP will be used to make connections between things and to read in between the lines. Ne allows an INFP to see the possibilities of information coming in, allowing them to see how it could change and vary. Fi and Ne will naturally work together, going hand in hand for the most part. A decent example of this is how an INFP could predict with no logical or concrete base what may make them feel good, and for the most part having that be true. Ne also is a great people reading function, with it's use to possibly predict the actions or thoughts of others. Ne is also an INFP's advise function, meaning that they will primarily use Ne to give advice to people or to make suggestions. Ne also makes INFPs pretty quirky people in social situations if they unleash their Ne. This makes INFPs and INTPs give off an impression of eccentricy when they are giving advice, since they are thinking of possibilities out of thin air with no real base besides a theory. Even though this is completely natural for them, it will appear that they have a "think outside of the box" attitude to others.
Tertiary- Introverted Sensing/Si: Introverted Sensing is a staple for INFPs. Even though it's tertiary it's usually being put into good use by remembering specific details, and also remembering how things were. When an INFP takes in information, they will process it through their Fi, Ne, and Si. The Si part of an INFP will remember the details about an experience or thing, and relate it to how it was before and will check for changes or inconsistencies. Ne is the fuzzy part of an INFP's perception of the world, and Si is the concrete part of an INFP's perception of the world. An INFP will remember the details of something, and this is put into use especially when making decisions for leisure. How did this make me feel before? What about it made me feel this way? Questions like that will be asked and answered in their heads. If Fi and Ne fail them in a situation then Si will take command, checking for details and linking them to past experiences. Si is the INFP's relief function, meaning that use of this function is generally used for relief and reassurance. With this in mind ISFJs and ISTJs make excellent people to be in an INFP's life, due to their dominant Si.
Inferior- Extroverted Thinking/Te: Extroverted Thinking is a very good tool for INFPs. It allows them to rationalize a situation or a problem of theirs, more often than not resolving the problem whether it's personal or emotional. When everything else fails for an INFP they will resort to Te (if they don't already resort to Te), and they will rationalize their feelings and try to make sense of everything. It's a tool for closure, for inner harmony. Extroverted thinking allows INFPs to see the logical boundries of things and the logical reasons behind why things happen, so if they turn to this then they can eliminate a source of negative feelings from the picture. This can mean asserting your problem toward someone onto the causer of the negative feelings etc. Te in INFPs is also a tool for debate, for applying logical reasoning to a situation rather than how you feel. If INFPs find a nice balance of this then they will do very well in life. You also must factor in the basics of Te, which are organization, categorizing things in your mind, and seeing the logical consequences of your actions.
You also must understand that as an inferior function that the other functions will drown out Te's voice unless you try to hear it, and at times INFPs may be very disorganized and not realize right off the bat the logical consequences of their actions. Inferior functions are typically very protected to the individual, and an INFP may be reluctant to start their Te up due to this and also a fear of screwing up or a fear of failure, and inferior functions are usually difficult to use for people which is where this fear would come from with Te being inferior. What I demonstrated in the above paragraph is INFP Te being put in good use, it of course can be misused (and is misused).
When Te is at an immature level of use in INFPs it will be a last resort. Once everything else fails then it will take them over until their problem is resolved. It could be compared to stopping a pipe from bursting. The more water that is in the pipe, the more water being pumped, the more strained the pipe gets. Eventually if the water pressure isn't lowered the pipe will explode, letting everything out. In these Te outbursts the INFP will often justify everything they say and how they feel, trying to feel self assured. This can lead to Te actually being illogical due to the quest for wanting the self assurance for their Fi, they will find false logic in things just to make themselves feel good. INFPs may also avoid even touching Te, they will avoid any bit of logical reasoning that threatens their Fi in hopes of not getting negative feelings.
-Relationships-
INFPs for the most part will want a relationship in life. For the most part there are some things that INFPs have in common when looking for one, but otherwise it's all relative to the person. An INFP (and any human being) will search for someone that appreciates them for who they are, and oftentimes this is hard to find. INFPs may feel a sense of unappreciation in a relationship if they aren't acknowledged for their efforts, since in a relationship and friendship we love being reassured. If an INFP doesn't have hope in a relationship (this is assuming they've baited reassurance) then they won't feel that it's worth trying anymore, so this is one area to avoid. INFPs tend to be attracted to intuitives (like most other intuitives) but this doesn't at all factor out S types from a relationship. There are many, many successful relationships between INFP and XSXX. INFPs also seek someone that they can talk to for the most part, a good way to reel in an INFP is to simply listen to them after they've opened up to you.
Problem Points:
INFPs have this state of mind that I will call "the mood." This "mood" occurs when all of the negativity the INFP pushes back in their psyche comes creeping out to get them. In this state of mind the INFP will feel majorly depressed for any amount of time, varying from person to person. They will remember random negative emotions from decades ago and will feel them vividly. This is all a process where the mind is releasing negativity. It can last any amount of time (it's absolutely relative to the individual), and after that mood is over they will feel fine. This is often confused with INFPs being bipolar.
Overview: INFPs are idealistic people at the core, they always make distinctions in the form of dichotomies in their mind when presented with anything in life. It seems to be natural to do this, to have a very innate sense of how things really are, how they are separated in what they mean. INFPs are driven by their inner values, which is a network of emotions and attachments (negative and positive), this net is constantly being added to over time and starts developing at a very young age. This net of emotions is what is commonly where most decisions are made along (they are also made with values), it stores all past emotions. An INFP's values come from the person's experiences and philosophies in life, they are purely subjective. An INFP will generally avoid bad feelings, and with use of the net they naturally remember how to avoid them. A value is formed when a bad or good emotion is felt over and over by a common event, an example would be if the INFP really disliked spinach then they would make it a value to avoid spinach and try to not eat it again.
An INFP's idealism is often inspired by a vision that they have as to how the world could be improved, the way the world SHOULD be. This will generally moderate an INFP's attitude, inspiring them to act on what would be best for a "greater good" in the situations they find themselves in. This may include getting the truth out, helping someone, or setting up for a good future. This view of how the world should be will either make them optimistic or pessimistic in their attitude. The pessimists will generally hope for the best but expect the worst, the optimists will hope for the best and expect the best. This is purely relative to the person.
Functions Order: Fi Ne Si Te
Dominant- Introverted Feeling/Fi: Introverted Feeling is the bread and butter of an INFP. As explained above it grants a net of emotions. It also grants them empathy toward others, in a sense that they feel what the other person is feeling unconsciously, and also allows them to see through other's eyes. Fi makes things have meaning for an INFP, this can be a good or bad, real or symbolic meaning to them. Fi allows an INFP to see right through others, showing their true intentions to them. However this can sometimes fail them, and they see a false intention.
Introverted Feeling basically drives the INFP's yearning for positive emotions in life. INFPs like feeling positive emotions, they thrive on them. If their emotional state is a good one they will do everything better while in that state. It's like mental adrenaline. If someone treats them well, they will generally return the favor since the person has done them well. The way Udog puts it is great: "INFPs tend to have a ‘bank’ of sorts. We fairly freely let people we like make withdrawals from it, in the way of listening, comforting, supporting, and doing favors. However, it’s important for the other person to make deposits, too. We need people to listen to us, do us favors, etc. It’s not a 1:1 ratio, but we are not very good at freely giving and giving unconditionally, either. If the withdrawal/deposit ratio gets too skewed, we eventually drop the person from our life." If the person has wronged an INFP without trying to make it up to them then the INFP may shut them out of their life until the negative emotions cool down. It's all relative to the individual as to how sensitive they are, some INFPs may purely go by the person's intent and feel good about that, disregarding if something simply sounded negative. Some may take the words they say personally if they are perceived as a threat. It varies as to how sensitive an INFP is, you can't just pinpoint it in a profile. That's for you to figure out on your own with your interactions with INFPs. So basically an INFP's emotional state and what makes it good is all relative to the individual.
Auxillary- Extroverted Intuition/Ne: The Extroverted Intuition of an INFP will be used to make connections between things and to read in between the lines. Ne allows an INFP to see the possibilities of information coming in, allowing them to see how it could change and vary. Fi and Ne will naturally work together, going hand in hand for the most part. A decent example of this is how an INFP could predict with no logical or concrete base what may make them feel good, and for the most part having that be true. Ne also is a great people reading function, with it's use to possibly predict the actions or thoughts of others. Ne is also an INFP's advise function, meaning that they will primarily use Ne to give advice to people or to make suggestions. Ne also makes INFPs pretty quirky people in social situations if they unleash their Ne. This makes INFPs and INTPs give off an impression of eccentricy when they are giving advice, since they are thinking of possibilities out of thin air with no real base besides a theory. Even though this is completely natural for them, it will appear that they have a "think outside of the box" attitude to others.
Tertiary- Introverted Sensing/Si: Introverted Sensing is a staple for INFPs. Even though it's tertiary it's usually being put into good use by remembering specific details, and also remembering how things were. When an INFP takes in information, they will process it through their Fi, Ne, and Si. The Si part of an INFP will remember the details about an experience or thing, and relate it to how it was before and will check for changes or inconsistencies. Ne is the fuzzy part of an INFP's perception of the world, and Si is the concrete part of an INFP's perception of the world. An INFP will remember the details of something, and this is put into use especially when making decisions for leisure. How did this make me feel before? What about it made me feel this way? Questions like that will be asked and answered in their heads. If Fi and Ne fail them in a situation then Si will take command, checking for details and linking them to past experiences. Si is the INFP's relief function, meaning that use of this function is generally used for relief and reassurance. With this in mind ISFJs and ISTJs make excellent people to be in an INFP's life, due to their dominant Si.
Inferior- Extroverted Thinking/Te: Extroverted Thinking is a very good tool for INFPs. It allows them to rationalize a situation or a problem of theirs, more often than not resolving the problem whether it's personal or emotional. When everything else fails for an INFP they will resort to Te (if they don't already resort to Te), and they will rationalize their feelings and try to make sense of everything. It's a tool for closure, for inner harmony. Extroverted thinking allows INFPs to see the logical boundries of things and the logical reasons behind why things happen, so if they turn to this then they can eliminate a source of negative feelings from the picture. This can mean asserting your problem toward someone onto the causer of the negative feelings etc. Te in INFPs is also a tool for debate, for applying logical reasoning to a situation rather than how you feel. If INFPs find a nice balance of this then they will do very well in life. You also must factor in the basics of Te, which are organization, categorizing things in your mind, and seeing the logical consequences of your actions.
You also must understand that as an inferior function that the other functions will drown out Te's voice unless you try to hear it, and at times INFPs may be very disorganized and not realize right off the bat the logical consequences of their actions. Inferior functions are typically very protected to the individual, and an INFP may be reluctant to start their Te up due to this and also a fear of screwing up or a fear of failure, and inferior functions are usually difficult to use for people which is where this fear would come from with Te being inferior. What I demonstrated in the above paragraph is INFP Te being put in good use, it of course can be misused (and is misused).
When Te is at an immature level of use in INFPs it will be a last resort. Once everything else fails then it will take them over until their problem is resolved. It could be compared to stopping a pipe from bursting. The more water that is in the pipe, the more water being pumped, the more strained the pipe gets. Eventually if the water pressure isn't lowered the pipe will explode, letting everything out. In these Te outbursts the INFP will often justify everything they say and how they feel, trying to feel self assured. This can lead to Te actually being illogical due to the quest for wanting the self assurance for their Fi, they will find false logic in things just to make themselves feel good. INFPs may also avoid even touching Te, they will avoid any bit of logical reasoning that threatens their Fi in hopes of not getting negative feelings.
-Relationships-
INFPs for the most part will want a relationship in life. For the most part there are some things that INFPs have in common when looking for one, but otherwise it's all relative to the person. An INFP (and any human being) will search for someone that appreciates them for who they are, and oftentimes this is hard to find. INFPs may feel a sense of unappreciation in a relationship if they aren't acknowledged for their efforts, since in a relationship and friendship we love being reassured. If an INFP doesn't have hope in a relationship (this is assuming they've baited reassurance) then they won't feel that it's worth trying anymore, so this is one area to avoid. INFPs tend to be attracted to intuitives (like most other intuitives) but this doesn't at all factor out S types from a relationship. There are many, many successful relationships between INFP and XSXX. INFPs also seek someone that they can talk to for the most part, a good way to reel in an INFP is to simply listen to them after they've opened up to you.
Problem Points:
INFPs have this state of mind that I will call "the mood." This "mood" occurs when all of the negativity the INFP pushes back in their psyche comes creeping out to get them. In this state of mind the INFP will feel majorly depressed for any amount of time, varying from person to person. They will remember random negative emotions from decades ago and will feel them vividly. This is all a process where the mind is releasing negativity. It can last any amount of time (it's absolutely relative to the individual), and after that mood is over they will feel fine. This is often confused with INFPs being bipolar.
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